The Shadow Behind the Shadow
by Spiritara
Summary: This is simply an experiment and will likely end up being a series of one-shots in the same setting- The Rookie Nine and Team Guy are roped into a unique ANBU training program called the Konoha 12 (K12), that they were apparently hand picked for by the ANBU Commander. But how can a Shinobi, rumoured to be stronger than the Kage, be the same age as them? And where is Naruto?
1. Chapter 1: The Light

**PLEASE READ:**

**This is the first time I've ever posted something, on any website. I'm unsure if anyone will read this but I am curious to hear an honest opinion. **

**So if you read this please comment and tell me what you think.**

**I should also note that any future posts continuing this story will come very slowly. **

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**CHAPTER 1:** THE LIGHT

Lady Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konohagakure (_Village Hidden in the Leaves)_ and Godaime Hokage (_Fifth Fire Shadow_), leaned back into her chair, downed a glass of sake and eyed the growing mountains of paperwork. The Lady sighed heavily, she'd give anything for a distraction right now, and unfortunately the source of most of her interruptions had been gone for far too long. Most perceived him as an annoyance, but in reality she understood that after wearing a mask for so long he felt like he was forgetting who he was and just need some company that knew the truth. Tsunade often questioned the wisdom of the Third for isolating the boy so, but she had to admit as a shinobi (_ninja_) he was a priceless resource and that thought sickened her.

A light breeze sent some of her papers fluttering to the floor, though the windows were all tightly shut. She bowed her head forward slightly, a small smile forming on her lips, her pale gold hair drifted over her warm brown eyes to hide the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks.

_'Speak of the devil...'_

"You're back," she choked, but quickly cleared her throat. He despised open displays of weakness.

The voice of the man behind her was deeper than she remembered, but that was to be expected. "Yeah, I'm back," he whispered, though with his new voice it sounded more like a seductive purr.

Tsunade wiped her tears away harshly and schooled her face back to its stony glare, before turning her chair around to look at the young man leaning casually against the windows. The last rays of the setting sun peaked over his shoulder giving his appearance an even more surreal look than it usually had. Even a fool could see that he was his father's son, despite the clear differences, and while his mother dominated his personality it had clearly mellowed somewhat after all the years of harsh treatment.

"Were there any complications with the other villages?" she asked, more to make conversation than out of curiosity. He wouldn't tell her anyway.

He smirked, one of his delicate blond eyebrows twitched, a quirk she remembered he had struggled and failed to get rid of. It was a nice reminder that he was still only human.

"You know I can't tell you the details, Tsunade, that was part of the agreement," he answered softly, turning his piercing eyes away to gaze directly at the setting sun, "Because Konoha (_Leaf_) is my home they were suspicious, and rightly so. As I predicted, Suna (_Sand_) was the worst due to their struggle to find a new Kazekage (_Wind Shadow_). I established a strong enough presence but I never managed to get an audience before my year there was up. Trust will come in time I suppose..."

"I see."

Suddenly his head snapped back around, his bright eyes forcibly holding hers, his expression deadly serious. "Have you given more thought to my request for the K12 project while I was gone? There is a storm coming, Hokage, I am certain of this. I will need the aid of an elite team if I want to minimize the losses. The Akatsuki (_Dawn_) are a menace and more dangerous than any of us realized, at least they will be."

Tsunade frowned, "You've found something?"

He shrugged, "Barely anything concrete and none of it good."

The Hokage sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time today before answering his question, "I've tried but Danzō and-"

"Oh!"

Tsunade jumped slightly at his sudden outburst, but then he... smiled. It wasn't as wide or bright as the fake smiles he used when he was undercover as a genin, but it was close and almost, _almost _real, which was rare. She was too shocked for a moment to notice him pull a large envelope out of one of his many hidden pockets. She slapped herself mentally and took the heavy package when the young man offered it.

"I managed to dig up some interesting stuff about Danzō's activities. Not only has he been using the village's money to fund Orochimaru's sick operations and passing him classified information but has also been organizing his old 'Root' students and sending them on missions behind your back."

"That damn traitor!" she growled, already on her feet pacing furiously. '_How could I have been so blind to not see this coming?'_

"There are many other minor crimes he's been involved with," the blond continued with a scowl, "but I would like to draw you attention to his involvement in the Uchiha Massacre..."

Tsunade went on storming around her office. "That bastard, I hope Ibiki has fun interrogating-"

A pair of strong hands gripped her shoulders forcing her to cease her movements. She looked up to meet a pair of concerned blue eyes. He was taller than her, she realized. '_Where has that cute little boy gone?' _She wondered, with an unexpected pang of both sadness and pride. '_If his parents were still alive they would be proud, too, I suppose.'_

The young man pried the envelope out of her iron grip and set it down in the middle of her desk before seating himself on the edge, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Bringing Danzō in for interrogation would be a bad idea," he stated wearing the calm mask of an experienced shinobi.

"Why?"

"Because, as I was trying to explain, he managed to steal a rather advanced Sharingan from Shisui Uchiha, as well as his ability to bend the thoughts of anyone he comes into contact with. He's been influencing the Konoha Council and your advisers for a long time."

The Hokage swore loudly but then looked hard at the blonde's face, "If he's gone that far why not control me as well?"

His blank expression broke as he gave her a small playful grin, "Probably because you're too hardheaded to manipulate."

"Brat," Tsunade muttered, trying hard to glare at him but it was a futile effort and just ended up grinning like an idiot. It was really great having him back. The warm fuzzy feeling she always got around the kid faded and she heaved sigh one hundred and one, "I'll send an ANBU squad to deal with Danzō." (_ANBU Black Ops_ - '_Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai' means Special Assassination and Tactical Squad_)

The young man sitting on her desk shook his spiky head and said, "Also a bad idea. I told you that he still controls Root, and who knows how many others are under his sway."

Tsunade crossed her arms as well and mimicked his previous position against the windows. He already had a plan. '_Damn...' _She hated it when he toyed with her like this. He could predict any situation, any person, without even having to resort to underhanded tactics, unlike Danzō.

"What are you planning? You wouldn't have given me the evidence you've collected, or even spoken to me about this, if you hadn't known how this would end."

His smile turned bitter, "You know me too well. I would like to deal with Danzō personally. If you send anyone else, there is a small chance it would spark into a larger conflict and that old warmonger would fan the flames. Konoha would destroy itself. Beside, I take it as a personal insult that he's trying to play in my role."

The Fifth Hokage nodded, "I don't like the idea of you going to gladly kill someone, even if it is Danzō, but I see your point."

"This is what I was created to do," he chuckled darkly without even a hint of humor.

_'Curse you Sautobi-sensei for doing this to the poor boy... but I understand why you did. We need him.' _

In a weak attempt to pull the young man out of his gloomy thoughts, Tsunade walked over to a filing cabinet. She released the seal on the drawer labeled with a star and the letter "s", then sifted through the files inside until she found what she was looking and returned to the man sitting on her desk staring blankly out the window.

"Once Danzō is dealt with, I'm approving the formal creation of the K12. All the information about Akatsuki that I have, the known mission parameters, the profiles of the shinobi you chose and the contract that gives you direct command of all fifteen members - assuming that they agree - is all in there."

He nodded his thanks and took the folder. While he flipped through it she sat back down in her seat and was about to open the impressively thick envelope of evidence he had delivered, when he cleared his throat and spoke.

"I need you to kill Naruto Uzumaki."

Tsunade stiffen and snapped an angry, "No."

"Why?" he sounded honestly surprised but she couldn't bear to look at him, "His mission is over. The last Uchiha is safe and has been happy to stay in the village since we dragged him away from Orochimaru's goons. Since K12 is going ahead I don't need Uzumaki anymore."

She clenched her hand on the desk in front of her to stop herself from wringing his scrawny neck. "Maybe you don't but all the shinobi you picked for K12 have been affected by him in some way. They constantly complain about how dull their lives have been since he left with Jiraiya. They are addicted to Naruto's light. You can't take that away from them. "

_'...Away from me...' _

"This isn't about him at all it? It's about Nawaki," he mumbled, she looked up just in time to see a sad expression flicker past his eyes before it was hidden behind a wall of ice. "'Naruto's light' was nothing but a lie, besides... they only miss their punching bag."

Lady Tsunade blinked and he was gone. Her chest ached painfully as she muttered to the empty room, "You're wrong, Ryū." (_Ry__ū means Dragon)_

She grabbed the bottle of sake from her desk and poured another glass. Paperwork can go to hell.


	2. Chapter 2: The Fox, The Hound, The Stag

**CHAPTER 2: **THE FOX, THE HOUND, THE STAG

His chakra was masked and he was currently under an invisibility technique while he observed his team as they lounged around the large grassy clearing.

Sasuke Uchiha was the easiest to spot; he was the closet to the Ryū's hiding place, and had Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno clinging to his arms. The girls bickered over his head and shouting insults at each other while the Prince of Arrogance looked vaguely annoyed and bored; very, very bored. He must have finally realized he'd never be able to detach them. They were disappointing, as he'd hoped they would have grown out of their childish behaviour while he was away.

Might Guy and Rock Lee were rather obvious in their green suits while doing laps around the field... on their hands. Those two would fall into his intense training schedule almost naturally, though they wouldn't even think about wasting their breath like that after he was done with them. He was sure the others wouldn't miss their 'flames of youth' speeches.

Ryū was glad to see Neji Hyūgaand Tenten Tamura having a relaxed spar out of the way, while being careful of their comrades. It was a good thing that his camouflage worked against all Dōjutsu (_Eye Techniques_). Those with eye techniques were usually too arrogant to see their own flaws. He eyed Tenten's use of Fūinjutsu (_Sealing Techniques_) carefully. It was unfortunate she didn't have Uzumaki blood; she no doubt would have found their secret bloodline quite useful.

The other Hyūga, Hinata, was with Kiba Inuzuka, playing a game of fetch with his dog Akamaru. He sighed. The two humans in the trio would need a lot of work, not so much with their skills but their character. Hinata had no confidence and Kiba had too much. He then observed the canine leap in the air to catch a tree branch that was as thick as his owner's thigh. Ryū had a suspicion that the dog had more brains that his master.

The other two that needed work were lounging about under the shade of a tree. Shikamaru Nara appeared to be sleeping, though that was highly doubtful, with his best friend Chōji Akimichi sitting next to him stuffing his face with chips. Shikamaru was incredibly intelligent and his priorities were nicely thought out, while Chōji had the warmest heart and he understood that all life was precious even though he was a bit naive. The down side was they were both physically weaker than they should have been.

Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yūhi were talking quietly not far from the languid duo, but standing a little too close to be considered normal. Ryū was almost certain that Shikamaru was listening intently to their conversation while pretending to snooze. Of all of the team, he knew the least about these two. He knew of their skills, that they were lovers and that he would have to make allowances since Kurenai was pregnant. He briefly wondered whether she'd told Asuma yet.

A puff of smoke and Sakura's loud response of: "YOU'RE LATE!" alerted him to the arrival of Kakashi Hatake. He was about as lazy and smart as Shikamaru but with his own his strange quirks. As he was telling everyone his lousy excuse that nobody believed, the Blue Flame Barrier Trap Jutsu activated.

Ryū stood from his crouch and gave a mock stretch as he watched his team go on the alert and form a defensive circle in the middle of the field, as far away from the barrier walls as possible. They had unknowingly put their backs to the Hiraishin (_Flying Thunder God_) seal he'd hidden in the centre the barrier; it was perfect.

He smirked and with a flicker of yellow lightning he appeared in their midst. They scattered in surprise. He laughed, and whatever plan they'd had went up in blue and gold flames as he attacked.

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The barrier faded, leaving no trace behind. Sharingan Kakashi looked around. All fifteen of them were bruised and utterly exhausted, beaten so easily by someone using Taijutsu only. The Copy Ninja could barely lift his head, and yet there stood their attacker, proud and tall, with not even the slightest flaw in his perfect appearance.

Covering his lean form he wore a modified ANBU uniform dyed completely black, draped over that was a deep red sleeveless cloak with black flames decorating the hem. The hood of the coat was pulled up and shadowed over a blank white mask. He only wore the glove and arm guard on his right arm, but just above his bicep were blue, green and silver ribbons braided around a bunch of tribal beads, hanging from which was a gold metal disk engraved with the Kanji that meant Blue Dragon Hermit. On his left arm he had nothing but an intricate tattoo that began with the Konoha ANBU brand on his shoulder encircled by a dragon. The wing fanned out and disappeared under his clothing, suggesting that it followed his shoulder blade, while the tail curled down around his arm to the back of his hand where it swirled into the shape of a Yin-Yang spiral.

Kakashi immediately knew who it was even though they had never met before. This man was ANBU Commander Ryū. The Commander wasn't as intimidating as he would have thought...

_'... Then again neither am I.'_

He was definitely impressive though and possessed an air of confidence that lacked the arrogant quality most the highly skilled shinobi had, but for some reason Kakashi couldn't shake the feeling that underneath, there was a tired soul nearing breaking point.

_'Am I reading into this too much?'_

He wasn't given time to dwell on that thought as a loud groan came from the Nara boy.

"When Tsunade-sama talked about being selected to join an elite team she didn't mention _you_ would be leading it," he sighed, "What a drag... Is it to late to drop out?"

The Scarecrow noticed how the Commander over exaggerated his body movements to express his emotions, in this case mock-offence.

"Ne, what kind of welcome with that, Oshika-kun? Didn't you miss me?" (_Oshika means Stag)_

"Like you can talk, your greetings are 'attack first, talk later'."

"I was testing you!" he protested indignantly.

The Nara boy flopped onto his back and looked up at the clouds. "Tch, you're still as troublesome as ever Ryū-Taichō..." (_Taichō means Captain or Team Commander_)

Ryū's relaxed into a slight slouch. "So you did miss me," he teased.

The easy atmosphere of camaraderie was shattered when the blond-Sasuke-fan-girl shrieked, "What do you mean '_Captain'_?"

"Long story," Shikamaru muttered tiredly.

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"Welcome to the party, kid!" yelled the girl behind the grinning tiger mask.

The young Nara glanced around with more subtlety than most nine-years-olds possess. He'd been pulled into a small private lounge at the back of a semi-popular pub; he could hear the music thrumming in the background. Though, why the ANBU with the wolf mask had brought him here, he still had no idea. These ANBU were different from the ones he occasionally had the privilege of seeing. Their vests were black instead of white and had hoods to cover their hair. There were four of them, two males and two females, and the only obvious way to distinguish one from the other was their mask and body shape.

Shikamaru jumped slightly when Wolf touched his shoulder, and then gestured to the girl who spoke, then said, "This is Tora, and that's Karasu, Taka, and you can call me Ōkami. And as the loudmouth said: Welcome to the Fox's Den, Shikamaru." _(Tora means Tiger, Karasu means Crow, Taka means Falcon, and Ōkami means Wolf.)_

"Your not normal ANBU, are you?" he asked cautiously.

Taka giggled, "Nope, only Ōkami and Karasu actually have brands."

He stared at her, and suddenly felt the need to rub his eyes, pinch himself and then look again. Had his brain really taken that long to register that Taka was barely an inch taller than him. She still had that high pitch voice only a child could have.

Nara glanced over the other girl, Tora. Now, she, at least, was a bit older. Her chest was already filling out and the curve of her hips was more obvious. Next to her, the so far silent Karasu, was the same height, his body lean and strong, but a bit lanky. They couldn't be more than fourteen or fifteen.

Ōkami, obviously the oldest, was perhaps in his late teens or early twenties. He was most likely in charge at the moment.

"We are the fairytales of Chūnin, a Jōnin myth, and an ANBU rumour," Karasu murmured quietly. (_literal meaning; Chūnin = Middle Ninja, Jōnin = High Ninja)_

The Wolf nodded, "There have always been shadows watching over Konoha, whether it be one or two, or an entire team. Officially we don't exist and the only person who knows about us is the Hokage."

Shikamaru frowned, "Then why would you show yourselves to me? I've only just become an academy student."

"You're a Nara which means you're smart. Also, it's because you're in the academy that we chose you," Tora said... smirking?

'_It sounds like she's smiling... or is that just because of the mask?' _Shikamaru pondered.

He turned to the only one in the group that made the most sense. "Meaning?" he asked Ōkami.

The Wolf chuckled, "Meaning we need someone to watch and interact with the students, and that someone has to be able to blend in. All you really need to join the Shadows is a commitment to protect Konoha. The only thing we'll train you in, is the basics that all T&I trainees are taught, like how to read people and how to resist both mental and physical torture, increasing your pain thresholds and things like that. The rest will be left up to the Academy and your jōnin sensei when you become a Genin." _(T&I stands for Torture and Interrogation, Genin = Low Ninja)_

Shikamaru licked his lips nervously, "And if I don't want to?"

The Shadow ANBU glanced at each other then suddenly they snapped to attention. Their masks directed to the door behind him leading to the alley behind the pub, the one he'd been brought though. Shikamaru glanced over his shoulder, expecting to see an aged and experienced captain of this mysterious squad. Though when he spotted the owner of the dragon mask, he realised he was only half right.

'_No way! This kid's smaller than me.'_

Moving as silently as a real shadow, he came into the room and waved off his subordinates.

"We'll wipe your memory of this meeting and you can go on with your boring life, without the knowledge of Konoha's inner workings," he stated with an eerie calm tone in his voice, as if what he was saying happened every day.

Shikamaru sighed and attempted to compose himself a little. "Troublesome."


	3. Note

I'm sorry to say this but **'Shadow Behind the Shadow'** will be on hold for a while.

The reason for this is because I recently transferred all my writing onto a USB flash drive and when I plugged it in again I found 95% of what I had on there (my fanfics, my original stories, story ideas, pictures I used for inspiration) had turned to gibberish and couldn't be opened. In my family I am considered to be the most competent with computers, and I'm pretty sure most of it won't be able to be salvaged. That is four years of work... gone.

I will try to recreate what I've lost but it'll take time. I had over 20 projects of varying sizes, some complete and some not, and one major original and one major fanfic (this one).

This story will not be abandoned though. I just won't be posting new chapters for a time


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